Which snake genus contains the sidewinder rattlesnake?

Crotalus is the genus containing the sidewinder rattlesnake.

The sidewinder’s scientific name is Crotalus cerastes. It is adapted to deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where its distinctive sideways locomotion helps it cross loose sand. The snake forms looping body sections and keeps only a small portion of its body in contact with the hot ground at any moment.

The sidewinder is a pit viper and has heat-sensing loreal pits between its eyes and nostrils. It also has a rattle, as indicated by its placement in Crotalus, a genus whose name comes from a Greek word associated with a rattle.

“Sidewinder” describes the species’ movement rather than a separate snake family. Another rattlesnake genus, Sistrurus, contains pygmy and massasauga rattlesnakes.